In many areas, there are flowing bodies of water such as streams and rivers where a continuous, natural source of flowing water is readily and constantly available. These bodies of water typically flow towards larger bodies of water such as a lake or an ocean at a substantially low flow speed, such as in the range of 3-4 miles per hour. This speed of the water flow is generally consistent, save for the initial flow from an upstream source such as where the water source originates from melting snow or ice high up on a mountain or some other higher altitude location. Such water flow can have a tremendous amount of force and kinetic energy that is currently being underutilized or not utilized at all; however, the water flow may be harnessed and converted into other forms of energy, such as electricity, that are more practical and commonly utilized by people.
In the past, it has been common practice to build levees or dams and the like to better control the flow of water and then build a hydroelectric power plant immediately downstream of the water control structure. However, such infrastructure is necessarily expensive and time consuming to build and set up. Further, such hydroelectric power plants must be run by trained and dedicated engineers and other professionals, making the cost of generating hydroelectric power simply out of the reach of most smaller towns and municipalities.
Thus, what has been lacking in the field of hydroelectric power is the ability to inexpensively and efficiently generate electric power on a smaller, more economic scale wherein smaller towns and municipalities located near large flowing bodies of water may generate electric power for personal consumption and may also sell excess power to larger power grids and networks.
In view of the foregoing, what is therefore needed is a relatively inexpensive hydroelectric power generating system that can be easily set up along a river or stream to harness the natural flow of water for generating electric power on a relatively small scale, and that can be operated without the need for highly trained staff and technicians to constantly maintain and support the generator.